World War Z‘s extended cut increases the movie’s runtime by seven minutes but doesn’t completely fix the zombie thriller’s narrative issues. Long before World War Z hit the big screens in June 2013, its production was held back by many creative conflicts and production complications. When these problems behind its creation began surfacing, viewers and critics naturally became skeptical about its success at the box office. However, World War Z proved all doubters wrong when it received a mixed-to-positive critical response and respectable box office numbers.
After extensive re-shoots and a last-minute script rewrite, World War Z cut characters and many critical moments from its original storyline, leaving an end product that featured Brad Pitt touring a post-apocalyptic zombie-ridden world to find a cure for a virus outbreak. While the final cut is not as groundbreaking as other narratively deep zombie flicks like 28 Days Later, it has merits when it comes to entertaining audiences. Even so, considering the final cut’s traditional zombie narrative, it makes sense to reason whether World War Z‘s extended edition is any better than the theatrical version.
World War Z Extended Cut Is More Like A Traditional Zombie Movie
The Added Scenes Are Largely Action Set-Pieces
Although one would expect World War Z‘s extended cut to add more narrative depth to the movie’s traditional post-apocalyptic storyline, it only adds a few new action scenes and makes some existing ones a little more violent. These additions do potentially make World War Z‘s zombie action slightly more entertaining than the theatrical cut. However, they do nothing to elevate World War Z above Hollywood’s regular fare of survival zombie dramas.
By and large, World War Z‘s seven-minute extended cut may only appeal to those who were let down by the movie’s PG-13 rating because it amplifies some of the movie’s existing sH๏τs and action beats. While this is not necessarily bad, given that World War Z‘s final cut never promised anything more than a survival thriller where Brad Pitt’s character finds new ways to duke it out with zombies in one set piece after another.
The extended cut might even offer diminishing returns to viewers expecting plot extensions…
However, since World War Z‘s original script had more human stories at its core that brought well-fleshed-out characters and a potentially more profound global-conscious narrative, the lack of these elements in the extended cut makes it no less orthodox than most zombie thrillers. Owing to this, the extended cut might even offer diminishing returns to viewers expecting plot extensions as it only dilutes the existing traditional zombie story with more action sequences.
The World War Z Extended Cut Doesn’t Change The Story
The Increased Horror Could Improve The Story For Some
The World War Z extended cut does not fundamentally alter the movie’s story. Like its theatrical counterpart, it explores themes surrounding humanity’s ability to triumph even in the darkest of times while justifying the movie’s overwhelming budget with enhanced CGI effects. Arguably, though, World War Z‘s extended cut may still affect how some viewers engage with the film since heightened gore and scarier-looking zombies with visibly more ashen skins and open wounds can make its globe-trotting survival action and drama seem more realistic and effectively thrilling.
Which Version Is Closer To The World War Z Book?
The Book Is A Much Different Zombie Story
World War Z is an adaptation of the book of the same name by author Max Brooks. However, when the movie was released in theaters, one of the main criticisms was how much it deviated from the source material to the point where it could barely be seen as a proper adaptation. While some might think the extended cut could showcase a version that was more like the books, the truth is that neither cut resembles the novel very much.
Brooks’ World War Z is a story without any actual protagonist. Instead, it examines the global zombie outbreak through the perspectives of different people from around the world. The novel takes place in the aftermath of this worldwide event and serves as a compilation of interviews with people who experienced it, from medical experts who were involved with the early outbreak to military personnel who fought the hordes of zombies to everyday people who tried desperately to survive.
The added action sequences of the extended cut do not bring the story closer to the more in-depth and expansive one of the novel.
Admittedly, it is a difficult story to adapt and the movie attempted to showcase the worldwide aspect of the story by focusing on one character, Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane, on a globe-trotting adventure to find a way to stop it. The added action sequences of the extended cut do not bring the story closer to the more in-depth and expansive one of the novel. In terms of the violence of the extended cut, it is closer to the novel as Brooks does not hold back on describing the gore.
At the same time, the novel never dwells on the violence like the extended cut. It is simply a byproduct of the international crisis that the story is about. In the end, World War Z‘s extended cut doesn’t differ too greatly from the theatrical cut and neither particularly do justice to the source material.
